Wheel stud cleaning device

ABSTRACT

A stud cleaning device has tubular body for receiving a stud to be cleaned through an open end of the body. An opposing mounting end of the body is arranged to mount on the rotary output of a rotary tool for rotating the body in use. Radial bristles, supported on bristle members, extend radially inward from an interior wall of the tubular body. The bristle members are slidably removable from respective longitudinal mounting channels in the body. Discharge openings in the wall between the mounting channels allow removal of debris from the interior of the body. End bristles are supported about the open end of the body to extend longitudinally outward. A common retainer selectively retains the radial bristles and the end bristles on the body for readily replacing the bristles when they become worn.

This application hereby claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) of U.S. provisional application 60/631,861 filed Dec. 1, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning studs, for example threaded wheel studs, using a rotary power driven tool.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle wheels are commonly mounted on the vehicle by threaded wheel studs received through cooperating apertures in the wheel rim. Nuts are then threaded onto the wheel studs for securing the rim in place. Under normal use of the vehicle, these wheel studs can become clogged with dirt and corrosion thus making it difficult to remove the nuts used to hold the wheel in place.

Various tools are known for cleaning a threaded member as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,188,674 to Hobbs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,489 to Begneaud and U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,244 to Muraguchi. The devices described by Maraguchi and Begneaud however are very complex involving numerous bristle sections which are individually mounted so that the resulting devices are both costly to manufacture and maintain while being time consuming and awkward when replacing the bristles thereof. Begneaud does disclose both radial bristles and axial bristles for cleaning both the circumference of a threaded member and the end face thereof. The axial bristles similarly require individual mounting with individual set screws resulting in difficult and time consuming replacement. While Hobbs does disclose a simplified structure the enclosed nature of the body is susceptible to clogging with dirt as there is no means for the dirt and debris to escape from the interior of the body. Hobbs further discloses a flexible backing supporting the bristles thereon, making it difficult for the bristles to be adequately secured in use as the flexible backing may bunch up when the device is rotated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a stud cleaning device for use with a power driven tool having a rotary output, the device comprising;

a generally tubular body having an interior wall defining a hollow interior extending along a longitudinal axis of the body from an open end to a mounting end of the body;

the mounting end of the body being arranged to support the body on the rotary output of the power driven tool for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the body; and

a plurality of radial bristles supported on the interior wall to extend generally radially inwardly from the interior wall.

Preferably there is provided a plurality of discharge openings communicating through the interior wall of the body at circumferentially spaced locations in which the radial bristles are supported between each adjacent pair of the discharge openings. A collective area of the discharge openings may be near in magnitude to a collective area supporting the radial bristles thereon.

The radial bristles are preferably supported on respective bristle members at circumferentially spaced locations about the interior wall. In this instance, the interior wall preferably includes mounting channels formed therein which extend in a longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis in which the bristles members and the channels have a mating cross section such that the bristle members are supported for sliding movement relative to the body in the longitudinal direction.

The bristle members and the channels receiving the bristle members therein may each have a portion of reduced dimension in a circumferential direction for restricting radial displacement of the bristle members relative to the body while permitting relative sliding movement in the longitudinal direction.

When the bristle members are slidably removable from the respective channels through the open end of the body, there may be provided a retainer selectively supported at the open end of the body which selectively restricts removal of the bristle members from the respective channels.

When the bristle members are supported in the respective channels for selectively separation from the body, there may be provided a retainer which selectively retains all of the bristle members commonly on the body. The retainer may be secured by an annular cap member which is threadably secured about the open end of the body.

Each bristle member may comprise an elongate a rigid trough member clamping a plurality of flexible bristles between opposing sides of the trough member.

There may be provided a plurality of end bristles supported about the open end of the body to extend generally in a longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis of the body in which the end bristles are commonly supported on the body by a common retainer for selective separation from the body.

Preferably the end bristles are supported in an annular configuration about the open end of the hollow body on an annular member.

The end bristles may be commonly retained on the body by an annular cap member which is threadably secured about the open end of the body. When the radial bristles are supported on respective bristle members, both the end bristles and the radial bristles may be commonly retained on the body by the annular cap member.

The mounting end of the body may include a tool mounting socket integrally formed therein. Alternatively, the mounting end may comprise a stem which is suitable for insertion into a household drill for example.

The use of through openings in the body of the stud cleaning device readily permits dirt and debris to escape from the interior of the housing to prevent clogging of the bristles. By mounting the bristles on individual bristle members slidably mounted in respective channels, replaceable bristle sections are provided without the need for complex mounting configurations and individual set screws as described in the prior art. When end bristles are provided which extend generally axially from the open end of the body, both the end bristles and radial bristles within the interior of the body may be held by a common retainer to further simplify the process of replacing the bristles as only a single threaded cap requires removal to replace all bristles sections.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the stud cleaning device, showing the open end of the body;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stud cleaning device, showing the mounting end of the body;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the open end of the body;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the mounting end of the body;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the device;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a section of the device taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8-8 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the device with the radial bristles shown removed;

FIG. 10 is a partly sectional side elevational view of the exploded device according to FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an end view of the cap member;

FIG. 12 is an end view of the annular member supporting the end bristles thereon;

FIG. 13 is an end view of the body shown with the cap member and end bristles removed;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of one of the bristle members;

FIG. 15 is an end view of one of the bristle members; and

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of one of the bristle members.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the accompanying drawings there is illustrated a stud cleaning device generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The device 10 is particularly suited for cleaning threaded wheel studs 12 of the type commonly used for mounting wheels onto a vehicle. The device 10 is intended to be mounted over top of a wheel stud and then rotated in place for clearing dirt and corrosion from the threaded portion of the wheel stud.

The device 10 includes a cylindrical body 14 having a hollow interior defined by a cylindrical interior wall 16. The hollow interior of the body extends in a longitudinal direction along a respective longitudinal axis from a closed mounting end 18 of the body to an opposing open end 28.

The mounting end 18 of the body has a tool mounting socket 20 integrally formed therein for mounting on the conventional connector 22 or chuck of a rotary output 24 of a rotary power driven tool 26, for example an electrical or pneumatic powered drill. The socket 20 is oriented for rotation the body on the tool about the longitudinal axis of the body.

The open end 28 opposite the mounting end 18, receives the wheel stud therethrough for receiving the stud within the interior of the body 14. An annular end face 30 of the body 14 surrounds the opening at the open end 28.

A plurality of mounting channels 32 are formed in the interior wall 16 of the body at circumferentially spaced locations about the interior. Each channel 32 extends in the axial or longitudinal direction of the body from the mounting end to the open end.

A plurality of bristle members 38 are provided for being supported in the channels 32 respectively for relative sliding movement in the longitudinal direction. The bristle members each comprise an elongate rigid trough member 40 which clamps a plurality of flexible and resilient radial bristles 42 between opposing sides of the trough member. When the bristle members 38 are supported within the channels 32 respectively, the radial bristles project radial inwardly to terminate at an inner free end in which the inner free ends of all the radial bristles form a generally cylindrical shape.

The bristle members 38 and the mounting channels 32 have a mating cross section such that the bristle members are supported for sliding movement relative to the body only in the longitudinal direction. Relative displacement in the radial or circumferential directions is restricted by providing each of the bristle members 38 and the mounting channels 32 with a portion of reduced dimension 44 in the circumferential direction adjacent the inner surface of the interior wall.

The bristle members 38 are supported at circumferentially spaced locations about the body to define a body section 46 spanning between each adjacent pair of the bristle members. The body section 46 includes a portion of the cylindrical interior wall 16. A discharge opening 48 is supported within each body section 46, at circumferentially spaced locations, to extend through the interior wall of the body from the hollow interior to an exterior side of the body. A bristle member 38 is thus positioned between each adjacent pair of the discharge openings 48 to permit dirt and debris removed from the studs to easily fall through the openings from the interior to the exterior, thus preventing clogging of the bristles. A collective area of the discharge openings is near in magnitude to a collective area supporting the plurality of radial bristles thereon.

An annular cap member 50 is provided for mounting on the open end 28 of the cylindrical body. The cap member 50 includes a cylindrical mounting portion 52 which is internally threaded for mating with exterior threads surrounding the open end of the body 14.

An annular retainer 54 is received within the cylindrical mounting portion 52 of the cap member for abutment against the end face 30 of the cylindrical body, between the body and the cap member 50. The annular retainer 54 projects radially inwardly sufficiently to overlap the bristle members 38 in the radial direction, while defining a circular opening therein which is sufficiently large to accept the wheel studs therethrough.

The annular retainer 54 is greater in diameter than a circular opening of the cap member for being held against the body to provide a common means of retaining all of the bristle members 38 within their respective channels by preventing longitudinal sliding movement of the bristle members from the interior of the body. Relative longitudinal sliding movement between the bristle members and the body is prevented by commonly overlapping the open ends of the mounting channels 32 with the annular retainer 54 when the retainer is abutted with the body. When the cap member is threadably removed and the annular retainer 54 is no longer held in abutment against the body, the bristle members are slidably removable from the mounting channels 32 at the open end of the body.

A plurality of end bristles 56 are mounted on the annular retainer 54 to project generally in the longitudinal direction away from the body 14 at a radially inward incline of approximately 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis. The end bristles 56 are arranged circumferentially on the annular retainer 54 in an annular configuration about the open end of the cylindrical body and are commonly held in place in a mounted position by the cap member 50 along with the radial bristles 42 retained by the bristle members.

In further embodiments, the annular retainer 54 and cap member 50 may be replaced by any suitable retainer for preventing the bristle members 38 from being slidably removable from the mounting channels 32 at the open end 28 of the body 14. For example, the retainer may comprise a split ring selectively received within an annular groove in the interior wall 16 of the body adjacent the open end 28. In this instance, no end bristles would be provided on the retainer.

As described herein, the device 10 generally comprises a rotary cleaning device for wheels studs. The device involves the use of a generally cylindrical body having six removable wire bristle sections supported within a hollow interior of the body. The body is closed at one end with means for mounting onto a rotary power driven tool. In the illustrated example a socket is provided, however a stem may also be provided for being received within the chuck of a conventional drill. The opposing end remains open for receiving the wheel stud therethrough and for allowing insertion and removal of the wire bristle sections. Each bristle member supporting the wire brushes or bristles thereon fits within mating mounting channels within the interior wall of the cylindrical body. Portions of reduced dimension on both the bristle members and mounting channels hold the bristle members in place to anchor the members against spinning within the interior cylindrical wall while attached to the rotary tool for cleaning a wheel stud. The rigid nature of the backing of the bristle members prevents any bunching or binding of the bristles in use. The discharge openings in the cylindrical walls of the body allow dust and dirt to fall through the openings to the exterior to prevent clogging of the bristles while the bristles are spinning about the wheel stud being cleaned. The threaded cap member on the end of the body holds the bristles in place while permitting ready removal and replacement thereof by simply removing a single threaded cap whenever the bristles become worn.

The wheel stud cleaning device mainly serves to aid in removal of a nut from a threaded bolt or stud by cleaning the dirt and corrosion from the threaded stud prior removal of the nut. The cleaning device also serves to clean a wheel stud after removal of the nuts so that when a new wheel is places on the vehicle, new nuts can be tightened and torqued properly.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. 

1. A stud cleaning device for use with a power driven tool having a rotary output, the device comprising; a generally tubular body having an interior wall defining a hollow interior extending along a longitudinal axis of the body from an open end to a mounting end of the body; the mounting end of the body being arranged to support the body on the rotary output of the power driven tool for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the body; and a plurality of radial bristles supported on the interior wall to extend generally radially inwardly from the interior wall.
 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein there is provided at least one discharge opening communicating through the interior wall of the body from the hollow interior to an exterior of the body.
 3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said at least one discharge opening comprises a plurality of discharge openings communicating through the interior wall of the body at circumferentially spaced locations.
 4. The device according to claim 3 wherein the radial bristles are supported between each adjacent pair of the discharge openings.
 5. The device according to claim 2 wherein an area of said at least one discharge opening is near in magnitude to an area supporting the plurality of radial bristles thereon.
 6. The device according to claim 1 wherein the radial bristles are supported on respective bristle members and wherein the interior wall includes channels formed therein which extend in a longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis, the bristles members and the channels having a mating cross section such that the bristle members are supported for sliding movement relative to the body in the longitudinal direction.
 7. The device according to claim 6 wherein the bristle members and the channels receiving the bristle members therein each have a portion of reduced dimension in a circumferential direction for restricting radial displacement of the bristle members relative to the body while permitting relative sliding movement in the longitudinal direction.
 8. The device according to claim 6 wherein the bristle members are slidably removable from the respective channels through the open end of the body and wherein there is provided a retainer selectively supported at the open end of the body which selectively restricts removal of the bristle members from the respective channels.
 9. The device according to claim 6 wherein the bristle members supported at circumferentially spaced locations about the interior wall.
 10. The device according to claim 6 wherein each bristle member comprises a rigid member supporting flexible bristles thereon.
 11. The device according to claim 6 wherein the bristle members are supported in the respective channels for selectively separation from the body and wherein there is provided a retainer which selectively retains all of the bristle members commonly on the body.
 12. The device according to claim 11 wherein the retainer is secured by an annular cap member which is threadably secured about the open end of the body.
 13. The device according to claim 6 wherein each bristle member comprises an elongate a rigid trough member clamping a plurality of bristles between opposing sides of the trough member.
 14. The device according to claim 1 wherein there is provided a plurality of end bristles supported about the open end of the body to extend generally in a longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis of the body, the end bristles being commonly supported on the body by a common retainer for selective separation from the body.
 15. The device according to claim 14 wherein the end bristles are supported in an annular configuration about the open end of the hollow body on an annular member.
 16. The device according to claim 14 wherein both the radial bristles and the end bristles are commonly supported on the body by a common retainer for selectively separation from the body.
 17. The device according to claim 14 wherein the end bristles are commonly retained on the body by an annular cap member which is threadably secured about the open end of the body.
 18. The device according to claim 17 wherein the radial bristles are supported on respective bristle members which are commonly retained on the body by the annular cap member.
 19. The device according to claim 1 wherein the mounting end of the body includes a tool mounting socket integrally formed therein. 